


The Only Straight Thing About You Are Your A's

by VanillaWafer42



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AND GAY, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But also, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Highschool AU, Hurt No Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, I have no regrets, Let Catra (She-Ra) Say Fuck, Multi, Rivalry, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner (She-Ra)'s A+ Parenting, Sports, Useless Lesbians, You Have Been Warned, bc no one in this show is straight, bc this is she-ra we're talking about, but its also cute, catradora, do I regret the title, its gonna get angsty, no beta we die like idiots, not in the slightest, obviously
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:01:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VanillaWafer42/pseuds/VanillaWafer42
Summary: Adora Greyskull is a student at Etheria High and a damn good one at that. She's always been at the top of her class, never missing an assignment and always ahead of her homework. She's got a good head on her shoulders. She thinks logically. A true overachiever.But there's one person she can't seem to get along with. Catra fucking Weaver.Her rival since the beginning of middle school, and the captain of the volleyball team. However, after one episode with the girl, things go sideways. With basketball season coming up, she's forced to get along with the only enemy she's ever known.Drama...ensues.OrThe High School Sports AU that a whole bunch of better writers have probably already writtenMy ability to think of original ideas is just, *chef's kiss*
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra), Catra & Hordak (She-Ra), Catra & Kyle & Lonnie & Rogelio & Scorpia (She-Ra), Catra & Scorpia (She-Ra), Entrapta & Hordak (She-Ra), Entrapta & Scorpia (She-Ra), Kyle & Lonnie & Rogelio (She-ra), Light Hope & Mara (She-Ra), Light Hope/Mara (She-Ra), Minor Entrapta/Hordak (She-ra) - Relationship
Comments: 8
Kudos: 58





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Big heads up I know nothing about these sports in general this is purely for fun please don't come for me if I mess something up. 
> 
> Also this idea was partially inspired by @onionandbannanajuice on Tiktok so go check out her content she is amazing
> 
> Anywho
> 
> Just a side note before you dive in, the relationships in this are quite canon-divergent. Writing is my coping mechanism let me type in peace
> 
> Ok enjoy

The first day of High School was usually a stressful time for most teenagers. The rush of getting to classes on time, the confusion of trying to find your friends in the absolute mob of lost people, the boring speeches each teacher gives in every class, the chaotic noise that envelops the cafeteria, even trying to figure out the seating charts can feel impossible sometimes. Public school is no cakewalk. There is chaos and fighting and shouting and sometimes someone might just fucking sing. You really never know. Walking into the doors, that's a whole new definition of adventure. 

For most students, it's not their first experience with the first-day blues. While not quite as bad as picture day, no one really looks forward to the premiere of their return to practical prison. But it's certainly easier if you've done it before, and if you know your way around. 

That was Adora. 

She had a map in her room of where the classrooms were located in order to keep from getting lost. She had a list of her teacher's names and the notes she took during their 'All About Me' lectures that everyone else could care less about. The first day wasn't stressful for her at all. She had been attending Etheria for three years prior, she was a bit of an expert by now. 

Besides, senior year was supposed to be the fun one. That's what everyone said. 

The halls were crowded with lost freshmen on their way to first period, constantly scanning the schedules in their hands and searching for the classrooms through the thickness of the mob. It was hectic at its calmest. This was nothing, she had seen far worse. 

Adora knew where she needed to go. These hallways were second nature to her. She had grown up in this place, made friendships and rivalries and all the stuff in between. Some of her best memories were in these very hallways, from when she herself was that lost freshman wandering aimlessly down the halls. 

But this was her last year. She would have to treat it well. 

Not that she didn't treat other years well, she was an excellent student. She had one hundred percent in all of her classes, she was always one step of homework and projects, she did all the possible extra credit that she could and studied almost every waking moment. She had always considered herself an overachiever, as learning just came so easily to her. Most of her friends were also very intelligent and were a great influence on her. 

Then again, most of her friends were from basketball. 

Apart from studying the hell out of everything she could, Adora loved to play basketball. She was the captain of the school team, a group they liked to call the Rebels. They were a team of really talented athletes, and Adora was very thankful to be a part of it. The Rebels were all so kind and thoughtful, crazy at times but also sweet. 

Just like any other day, Adora waltzed through the halls from class to class with her head held high. While some of her younger classmates were visibly nervous, the seniors all seemed much more relaxed than she had expected. It was their turn to rule the school grounds for a year, their turn to play the pranks on the teachers and get away with it. 

She shared almost every class with her friends, which she was grateful for. In almost every period she sat next to someone she knew and could pass notes to during class. Her teachers were thoughtful for the most part, but being a senior changed her opinion on many of them. Now was the year she could have a closer and more comfortable relationship with her teachers, they had known her for years. Plus, she was leaving. Maybe that was a bonus or something. 

She had a good lunch packed, the morning went by smoothly, and her friend group got their signature seats in the back circle table in the food court. Everything was going as it should go, like a normal school day. In Adora's mind, making something the first of something didn't make it any less scary. Sure, this was the one everyone hyped up, but in reality, it would be no different than any other day. You just had to get used to your surroundings, that's all it would take. 

The cafeteria was as loud as expected. There were shouts of bloody mary, thrown cartons of milk spilling on the tile, a couple of people standing on tables, and even a couple of people using the chairs as hats. It was an...interesting scene. Amusing, if you paid enough attention.

Then again, that's what you learned to expect at Etheria. The people that went there were..emotional. Complicated. Everyone in the establishment needed therapy whether they'd admit to it or not. It wasn't disastrous most of the time, there was a level of sarcasm to it. And that's all they really like to joke about, the fact that all of them were really just fucked up way past the point of no return.

The afternoon went by as simply as the morning did. More classes devoid of entertainment, more snores coming from somewhere in the back, and even a message from the principal. The principal of Etheria High was a woman named Dr. Net. Adora knew her quite well, as the two had many conversations in their pastime. Dr. Net was a very thoughtful lady and an awesome principal. She wasn't boring or prissy or classy or annoyingly high-pitched. She was the kinda person that went out to grab a coffee with her students, much more casual and open than other principals in the district. 

But most of the classes passed by quickly. Adora took her notes about any new professors. She always wanted to be fully prepared. 

It didn't come without a burden, however, all the hard work and good grades. It wasn't any walk in the park. While she would never willingly admit it to any of her friends, being the definition of a teacher's pet exhausted her. She was grateful, of course, for the reputation she had made for herself these past couple of years, but she was relieved this was her last year in high school. Not that college would be any better, but at least it was a step forward in the right direction. 

Her day went by quickly, in an orderly fashion. No unexpected obstacles. 

Well, except for after the end bell. 

Of all the things that could annoy Adora to the point of return, it just _had_ to be Catra. It couldn't be the picky, strict teachers or the rubbery pizza or the rotten smell. She didn't have any problems with schoolwork or sports, but Catra always got on her nerves. 

The two had been rivals since elementary school. They had met in kindergarten, even befriended each other for a while. Then some crazy shit went down in fifth grade. Catra had her own friends, her own life, and she could do whatever the fuck she felt like. It wasn't like Adora had to be a part of it anymore. 

That lasted a good year before middle school. Then the doors flew open for sports. Adora had always played basketball, and she was really excited that the school had tryouts for the middle schoolers. She had made the team, obviously, and by the start of high school, she was captain. She had held the title for three years now, and she was very proud. The Rebels had grown as a team and as a family alike, and it was a generally positive environment for her. She loved the rush of adrenaline, the cheers from the crowds, the feel of her hands on the ball, all of it. 

And it would have been perfect if Catra hadn't been an athlete too. 

Catra had been playing volleyball for as long as Adora had been shooting baskets. When they were friends, the two would practice together. Both sports needed the same court, after all. But after they split, Catra had tried out for the Etherian Volleyball team. 

Adora was still salty about the fact that Catra became captain before her. 

The basketball and volleyball teams had also been rivals for a while, way before Adora and Catra showed up. It was an alleged relationship, no one really knew what started it. But with Adora and Catra in charge, they naturally took up the rivalry. 

The volleyball team had a name, similar to how the basketball team called themselves the Rebels. The whole team had agreed for some reason they wanted to be called the Horde. It was random and a bit weird, but so was the Rebels. 

It was customary at Etheria to name groups of things. Adora even had a name with Glimmer and Bow, they liked to call themselves the Best Friend Squad. At this point, no one really questioned it. There was a lot of weird shit that went down in the school walls. 

But this wasn't just weird, this was bad. Catra and the Horde definitely should not have been in the locker rooms at the same time as the Rebels. 

"The hell you think you're doing here?" Catra asked Adora, her team turned to face them. Adora didn't know what was happening. This was supposed to be their first practice, she had signed the Rebels up for the court today. Why was the Horde here?

"Um, getting ready for practice, what are you doing here?" Adora replied, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. "Well, you can turn your ass around and leave, all of you. The court is ours today," Catra replied and closed her locker. The rest of her team gave a small cheer in reply, and they started walking towards the door to the gym. 

"No, it's not. I signed us in for today," Adora shouted, and Catra groaned. "Then you're fuckin blind, I claimed Mondays on the form," She explained. 

"No, _I_ claimed Mondays on the form!" Adora replied, getting agitated. This seriously was not about to ruin her first day as a senior. She distinctively remembered signing up for Mondays when they got the email. Catra's name wasn't on there. She couldn't have claimed it before her. 

"Are you saying I'm a liar?" Catra asked, walking up to the blonde. Her mismatched eyes glared into Adora's blue ones, but Adora stood her ground. "Yeah, that's what I'm saying," she said quietly. 

"Listen here, blondie. I signed up for the court, not you. So get the fuck out of my face before I get mad," She said, though it was quite clear that she was already mad. "We were here before you anyway," Lonnie added from the back. The Horde nodded in agreement. 

"We're not going anywhere," Glimmer said, stepping forward from behind Adora and pressing a finger to the middle of Catra's chest, pushing her back. "Get your fucking hands off of her!" Lonnie shouted, pushing Glimmer's shoulder with enough force to make her stumble back into Adora.

Similar to how the Rebels were close friends, the Horde was too. Their team consisted of Catra, Scorpia, Lonnie, Entrapta, Rogelio, Kyle, Hordak, and their coach, Octavia. They weren't a big group by any means, but they had all grown up together. As a sports team, they were all very talented. They worked together like a well-oiled machine. That came from experience, of course. They had played with each other long enough to know each other's strengths and weaknesses. But they were all really close outside of school. 

As much as the two teams had argued over the past years, they were actually very similar. 

"Leave her alone!" Frosta shouted from the back. "Oh yeah, shortie! Or what?" Lonnie shouted back to her. Instead of a response, a single dirty sock flew from the back of the room to land neatly on Lonnie's head. 

That was a stupid move. 

Out of everyone that was in the gym that afternoon, no one really knew what happened next. A dirty white sock was a sign of war. There was no dignity in throwing a dirty sock at someone. Anyone who thought about it was likely to get beat up. Both groups knew how much those things could stink. 

There was chaos, there was screaming, and there was war. It was a battlefield in the locker room. All quite literally went to hell. 

To most others, a sock would not be a reason to start fighting. That was one of the many things that made Etheria different from any other school. They were very emotional students, and they did not take lightly to dirty gym socks. 

Punches were thrown, most of them were missed. People were up on other's shoulders. Everyone went in their bags to grab their dirty socks. It was common to have them ready at hand in case something like this ever happened, which it did quite frequently. But this was the first instance where it was in a contained room with all members. They had never run into a problem like this before. 

Usually, the schedule for who got the court on each day ran smoothly. There weren't any issues with this sort of thing. But now all of the Horde and all of the Rebels had a perfectly unreasonable reason to go to war, and none of them were gonna let that get by. 

Basketballs and volleyball flew through the air, bouncing on people's heads. Dirty socks were wielded like swords. Towels and shoes were thrown into the mob. 

The warzone continued on for who knew how long. There wasn't any time to look at a clock, that would be letting your guard down. 

But maybe they should have turned down the volume a bit. The shouts and war cries enveloped the room in a resounding scream that masked any noise from the other side of the doors. Which is why none of them heard the signature _click-clack_ of footsteps in the hall. No one even knew who exactly opened the door in the middle of their chaos, but all went silent after that. Dr. Net's voice made them all stop in their tracks. 

"Weaver. Greyskull. My office. _Now._ "

-_-

Dr. Net was pacing. That was not a good sign. 

Her office was usually inviting, calm, and collected. She was usually all of those things too, but this was one of her few exceptions. Now, it was quite clear that she was mad. 

In all honesty, she had every right to be. The Horde and the Rebels had made a warzone out of a gym locker room. It literally had looked like a tornado had come when the two teams had filed out of the small space. 

"It is the _first day of school_ ," Dr. Net said, almost hissing the last phrase. She didn't stop pacing. "It was running smoothly. Everything was going according to plan," she added, refusing to look the girls in the eye. 

Adora and Catra sat in the two chairs in from of her desk. Her big spinny chair was left forgotten on the other end of the room. The two teenage girls watched as their principal walked back and forth in from of them. They also refused to look one another in the eye. 

Ironically, there were posters about friendship and love covering the walls around them, all made in bright colors. Most times they made people smile. Not now. 

"I've known the two of you for years, you are both very bright young women! Where did this come from?" Dr. Net asked, finally slowing her pacing. She set both hands down on her desk, staring at the wood. There was a small silence. Both of the captains were waiting for the other to speak up. 

"Dr. Net, the Horde said-" 

" _No,_ " The woman interrupted, her tone stiff. She held a hand up to signal silence from the blonde. The last thing she needed was _another_ fight to break out in her office. Catra opened her mouth and blurted, "Dr. Net, my team didn't do any-" 

Dr. Net shook her head, and Catra sat back in frustration. There was another small silence before the woman stood up straight. She still didn't look at the girls in front of her. She walked over to the far corner of the room and pulled her chair back to behind the desk. She slowly sat down and pinched her nose. 

Then she looked up at the girls. 

"I understand that our school has a history with your sports teams. Fights between you aren't uncommon, but they're usually small," She said quietly, only slightly above a whisper. Her voice was still plenty loud for the two to hear her, as no one else was in the front office. Their teammates were already home by now, they had driven away as soon as they were free to go. 

"And I know I'm not aware of whatever history the two of you have," She said. "But I can't let this continue on any longer. You are seniors now, the younger kids look up to you." Her face began to soften a bit from where it had stood before. There was genuine sadness in her eyes, and both of the girls felt guilty about it. 

"You're classmates, you both go to the same school, play on the same court, I just don't understand why you hate each other so much," she said, looking between the two. Their eyes remained fixed on the principal, neither of them dared to look at the other. Dr. Net sighed. 

"There was a technical difficulty on my end. I forgot to take Mondays away from the form after one of you claimed it," she said, leaning back in her office chair. It rocked slightly. "But that is _no_ reason for your behavior today. And I'm not going to tolerate any other disputes between the sports teams fighting for the _same_ school."

Her words had wings. They bounced off all the kindness posters and into the captain's ears over and over again. Same school, right? If only it were that simple. 

"Whatever bad blood the two of you have, I can't let it continue. Not when it creates situations like earlier this afternoon." She sighed again, though this one almost seemed sympathetic. "You have left me no choice," she said, sitting up in her chair. It was clear that she didn't want to say what she was about to announce, but she needed to anyway. It was for their own good. 

"You will share the practice court from now on."

" _What?!"_ The two teenagers gaped in unison, both lurching forward in their seats. "Dr. Net, you can't be serious! How can we practice with them?" Catra asked, pointing a finger towards Adora. The blonde narrowed her eyes and pointed a finger back at the brunette. "How can we practice with _them_?" 

"How you share the field and how much you choose to interact is not my decision to make," she said, trying to calm the two down. "But today was your last exception. You need to learn to be able to work together."

Both girls opened their mouth to reply, but Dr. Net just shook her head. 

"What days?" Catra asked through gritted teeth, trying to hide her anger as much as possible. The two captains sent glares to one another now, there was no fear of the connection of eyes anymore. "All but Wednesday. Because _that_ ," she said, pulling two slips of paper out of the drawers in her desk and set them in front of the two. "Is when you will be in detention."

As much as they wanted to object, detention made sense. After all, they had kind-of started a world war that afternoon. "Look, girls," The woman said, standing up and walking to the front of her desk sitting down on the edge and facing the two. "I know it's not ideal. And I know it seems like I'm making the wrong choice. Hell, even I'm not confident this is going to work," she said, and another silent glare was sent across the room from two pairs of eyes. 

"But you have to understand where I'm coming from. These fights, I'm afraid they'll start getting out of hand. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I believe the two of you can work out your differences," she said, a glimmer of hope in her voice. It was obvious she was getting desperate to end the rivalry, especially if she was turning to the of them. 

Both Catra and Adora found it in themselves to feel bad for the woman in front of them. They knew how crazy the school could get, and neither of them wanted to be a burden to Net. She had watched them grown up at Etheria, had been to every game, cheering. She was that kind of person, and it was the least that both of them could do to try and make it easier for her. 

But, that didn't mean they would have to enjoy it. 

Dr. Net pointed to the door. "You are free to go. I'm sorry for raising my voice earlier," she said kindly, a small smile on her face. The two girls returned the smile and made their way outside. Once the door closed, a deathly silence filled the hallway. 

They both took a step in the same direction. Then another, and another. 

It went on like that until an irritated Catra turned to her rival and spoke. "Couldn't you find another way around? Do you really have to walk right next to me?" Adora stopped, planting a hand on her hip. "I didn't realize my presence was offending you. Maybe you should be the one to find another way around," she replied, matching the anger in Catra's tone in her own. 

Catra just rolled her eyes and resumed walking, this time at a slightly faster pace than Adora. Adora followed at an equally fast pace, but a few feet behind her. They continued like that until they reached the parking lot, and both of them scanned the nearly empty blacktop for their cars. Adora's eyes fell on her red sedan, and she started walking in that direction. 

She stopped when she heard Catra whisper " _Shit_."

Adora turned to face her. "What?" She asked. Catra pulled her phone out of her back pocket and tapped the screen, only to receive a black screen. The device was dead. She crossed her arms and turned away from the blonde, but she didn't move. She wasn't going anywhere. 

"Where's your ride?" Adora asked hesitantly, and Catra sighed. "Man, so nosy, aren't you?" Adora scoffed. "I'm just asking a question, Catra," she said. "And I'm telling you to back off," Catra replied curtly. 

"So, you don't have one," Adora said, smirking. Catra rolled her eyes again. "Entrapta was supposed to drive me, then your team threw the sock. Don't pretend like you care or anything."

Adora thought for a moment. She didn't really _want_ to give Catra a ride, but the only other car in the lot was Net's. After their ordeal earlier, it felt wrong to ask anything of her. And while Catra was the last person she'd want to drive home with, they were supposed to bond, right? That was the whole point of sharing the field. And maybe this could help speed the process. 

"I could..." She started, and instantly regretted it as Catra turned to her. Her eyebrow was raised in skepticism. The sound stopped coming from her mouth. She felt stupid. "You could...what?" Adora took a deep breath, trying not to blush with embarrassment. "I could...give you one?" Adora asked quietly. Catra's eyes went wide and she smiled. 

"You...are offering me a ride?" She said, almost laughing. Then she did start laughing. It made Adora uncomfortable. She had only wanted to help. 

"Listen Net wants us to _bond_ ," Adora said, emphasizing the last word. "If I give you a ride, maybe that'll...I dunno. Make it go by faster or something," she mumbled, reaching a hand up to the back of her neck. She was almost confident that she was the embodiment of a tomato at this point, there was no use in denying it. 

"Fine. but you tell _no one_ ," Catra said, sending her a small glare. Adora held her hand up in a surrender position and nodded, a small smile forming on her face. The two made their way over to Adora's car. 

Catra climbed into the front seat and closed the door behind her. Adora put the key in the ignition and twisted, and the vehicle hummed to life in response. "Where exactly is your house?" Adora asked, pulling out of the parking lot. 

"Just get from Whispering Woods to TFZ," She said, and Adora raised her eyebrows. She turned the wheel and directed the car onto the WW. "The Fright Zone? Man, no wonder you're so intolorable," Adora said, earning a chuckle from the girl next to her. "Let me guess, you live on Brightmoon?" Adora nodded. "No wonder you're such an overachiever."

Brightmoon and The Fright Zone were two infamous streets near Etheria High. One known to carry the 'good' students, the ones who listened to rules and for the most part, did what they were told. The Fright Zone, on the other hand, was a bad road. There were dark alleys every couple buildings, gangs of all shapes and sizes, drug dealing, bar fights, just about everything. It wasn't a good place to grow up. At all.

Adora drove for a while. There was a sense of comfort of the silence in the car. There was no need to worry about conversing, neither of them wanted to. Thy might be doing what Net wanted, but they weren't in absolute agony. 

The Whispering Woods was the biggest road around town. Almost everything connected with it in some way. Which also meant it was prone for accidents. Lots of young drivers were making their way to Etheria in the morning, which made it hard for other older, more experienced drivers to get around. Turned out, teenagers were not as good of drivers as they thought. 

But right around now was the calmer time of the road. Not many people were driving on it. All of the kids were gone already, and most adults still had work to do. From the dismissal of school to the beginning of the rush hour was really the time to drive on the WW, and they were definitely in that time frame. 

Both girls stared out of the window. Whether it was focusing on the road and their surroundings or just how long the grass had grown since that morning, well, it depended on which seat you were sitting in. 

Adora missed TFZ the first time they passed it. Catra pointed it out a couple roads down to mess with her. The blonde turned the car around in some random person's driveway, then turned onto the right road. 

She had never actually been on TFZ. She preferred to stay away from such places, and her moms made sure to tell her to steer far from it. At first, the road was just trees and bushes. Then houses started to appear on the sides of the road, but they didn't look like very livable places. It was more like a barn, a rusty shack, some treehouse that was a sneeze away from falling to clutter. 

When she reached the shops, that was when it started to smell. Her nose wrinkled through the windows of the car. There was smoke surrounding the sidewalk, some fume coming from the chimneys of all the buildings. People were standing outside, leaning on walls. They were smoking cigars, lightly punching each other, and playing not so nice pranks on the bystanders. 

It was like that scene in the movie where the protagonists came upon the should-be-deserted are but really it's just filled with gangsters and drug dealers. There were definitely lots of shady looking people around the road. 

Adora stayed silent for as long as she could. "Okay, what is that _smell_?" She asked, wiping at her nose with her shirt sleeve. Catra seemed unfazed by all of this, as if it were normal to be surrounded by such events. "You know. This and that. Mostly the sewers," Catra replied, her voice monotone. Adora nearly wretched at the thought of it. Brightmoon was so clean and collected, this was practically the stone ages. 

"Is this really where you live?" Adora asked, sending Catra a raised eyebrow along with another nose wrinkle. "Yep. Number 1369, should be on your left in about two minutes." Adora did her best not to snort at Catra's address. "Does it still smell like this around there?" 

"It's not as bad, but yeah, pretty much," Catra said, still speaking calmly. How couldshe say it so normally? This kind of environment wasn't normal. Adora's curiosity got the best of her. "Does the rest of the Horde live around here?" Catra shook her head. "Nope. They all live about a mile down WW, on the Wastes."

"Do you have a car?"

"Woah, what's with all the questions?" Catra asked, turning slightly to face Adora. 

"I just thought-"

"Look, not everyone's as rich and fortunate as you, okay. So live your own life and stay the fuck outta mine," Catra huffed, returning to sulking and looking out the window. Dammit. She blew it. Catra clearly wasn't ready to bond yet. 

As promised, two minutes of silence stood between the girls and Catra's house. A small "Here," was heard from the seat next to her, and Adora parked the car. She looked up to examine Catra's place. It literally looked like it was caving in. The painting was chipped and peeling, the door had rust all over. There was an old car parked int he tiny driveway and a single skateboard leaned against the outside wall. 

The steps leading up to the front door were steep and uneven. It was a narrow staircase leading to a poor excuse of a porch. Adora bit down on her tongue to keep herself from saying anything she might regret, and watched as Catra exited the vehicle and looked at the grand eight square feet of grass between her and the stairs. 

Adora readied her foot on the gas pedal, but paused. She scrolled down the window just an inch. The smell wafted in through the crack in the door. Catra was right, it wasn't as bad as before. The smell was about as bad as it had been through the car's exterior earlier in town. It still wasn't pleasant, or course, and her nose still wrinkled, but it could be worse. 

Before Adora could leave, she heard a crashing sound through the window. She looked up, expecting to see a scene, but Catra was just frozen in her step. A sound of shattering glass came from the her direction. If she wasn't making the noise, that had to be... _inside the house_. Loud, booming footsteps neared the front door, and Catra whipped around to face Adora. 

"Go!" She told her. "Wait- what is-"

"I said _go_ Greyskull, get the fuck out of here," Catra hissed. Adora picked up something in her voice. It wasn't the normal sarcasm or anger, no this was different. This time, her voice was slightly timid, almost like...almost like she was _afraid_. 

Adora got the memo and slammed her foot against the gas pedal. The car zoomed out along the road as fast as Adora was willing to drive it. But before she could close her window again, she couldn've sworn she heard the sound of a woman screaming. 

-_-

Adora stepped onto the cobblestone pathway leading up to her house. She grabbed her backpack and basketball bag from the backseat, and locked the car behind her. She tucked the keys into her jacket pocket and made her way to the front door. 

The door swung open with a slight _creak_ , and a joyful response came from the kitchen. "Adora! How was your first day?" Adora smiled and kicked off her shoes. She walked into the kitchen, instantly met with the smell of warm cookies.

"It was alright, but we're sharing the court with the Horde from now on," Adora announced, dropping her bags on one of the stools in front of the counter. Mara turned around, changing her focus from the oven to her daughter. "Oh, drama," she said, and Adora chuckled. "Pretty much."

Their kitchen was a smaller place. There was a counter that snaked to three stools and the dining table, an oven, a stove, a sink, and a couple cupboards in between. Mara was using almost all the counter space to do her baking. There was sugar and flour everywhere, not to mention the bits of spilled batter. 

Mara was one of Adora's legal guardians. She was a bit on the younger side, but that was only because Adora was adopted. Mara didn't have an actual work job, she did all of it from home. That way, she could spend more time with her family and Swift Wind the cat. Adora liked having Mara home, that way she could always have a warm welcome.

"Oh, Razz is coming over for dinner tonight, so make sure you finish your homework soon," Mara added, pulling a sheet of cookies out of the oven. "Oh, one more thing," Adora said, fishing in her pocket. She pulled out the car keys and a slip of paper. She tossed the keys onto the counter but handed Mara the paper once she was done handling the cookies. 

"I've got detention on Wednesdays now with Catra Weaver. There was a sock fight in the locker rooms," Adora said, stealing a cookie from one of the cooking sheets that was cooling. Mara took the slip of paper, but quickly put it down. "Catra?" She asked, concern in her voice. Adora nodded, but put a hand up to stop Mara from lecturing her again. "I know, I know. She's bad news. It's not like I'm befriending her or anything, Net just doesn't want us to argue so much."

Mara nodded, but her look of concern lingered in the air. "Mar, I know! You've told me a million times to stay away from her! I'm not stupid!" At the last statement, Mara raised a goofy eyebrow and chuckled. "Not so sure about that one," she said, and Adora just playfully punched her in the shoulder. 

-_-

Adora laid in her bed, staring at the ceiling. A million thoughts ran through her head, and she wasn't sure which ones to focus on. It was mainly the fact that she had to _share_ a court now, and what that meant for her practice schedule. She knew for a fact that Huntara, their coach, would not be happy about being in the same room as Octavia. And playing half-court all the time didn't seem like an effective strategy, it would have to work.

Or maybe the Rebels could get the court for half the hour then the Horde could take the whole court. That was another option. 

It just angered her that she was being forced to get along with Catra. Like, out of _all_ the students at Etheria, it just _had_ to be Catra that Adora was sharing a court with. And that wasn't even counting detention. The slip read Mrs. Spinn's room, not the usual detention room. That meant that it would just be the two of them in a room together for an hour after school every week. 

How was she supposed to keep away from Catra like her moms wanted if she was being forced to bond with her? Non of it really made sense. 

Then her thought spiral landed on Catra. She was such an interesting person, Adora could never really figure her out. At first she was sad, then angry, then sarcastic, then friendly to the like six people who were close to her. 

Adora used to be close with her. The two of them used to be the best of friends. They did almost everything together, and her moms seemed fine with it. Then one day, in the middle of fifth grade, they demanded that she stay far away from Catra, that she act like she didn't even know her best friend. Adora hadn't wanted to, but she always did what her moms asked of her. 

And then began the rivalry. It had started out playful, little insults here ann there. Then it grew to the point where both of their groups of friends despised each other and made warzones out of locker rooms. 

And now this. A forced bonding experience. How fun. 

As she turned off the lights and laid her head on the pillow to welcome the sweet embrace of sleep, she heard whispers from downstairs. Hope was home, and her and Mara were definitely talking about something. Adora stood up and carefully tip-toed to the door and opened it a sliver, listening into their conversation.

_"Detention, she said."_

_"What on earth for?"_

_"The Horde started a sock fight in the locker room."_

_"Oh my lord, not again."_

_"But that's not the worst part."_

_"What is?"_

_"She's in detention with Weaver's kid."_

_"Have you talked to the principal?"_

_"No, Hope. We don't have any proof."_

_"I know, but I'm still concerned for her."_

_"She's a senior now, she can handle herself. There's no reason to be worried."_

_"Promise me they won't get too close?"_

_"I'll make sure of it."_

_"Thank you."_


	2. Chapter 2

The wind was cold in the morning. Etheria just  _ had _ to start at the earliest times, didn't it? 

Catra's hair flowed in the chilling gales. She wasn't excited to be outside at such an early hour, much less with such winds. She was stationed next to the WW, waiting for the familiar flickering headlight and excited shouts of her teammate. Scorpia was probably five minutes late now, which was unlike her. She usually showed up early, not wanting Catra to have to wait in the cold for her. But today was different. 

Dozens of cars sped past at high speeds in front of her, each passing vehicle sending another gust of icy wind into her face. She had her leather jacket on, which didn't supply her much warmth. There was a light hoodie in her volleyball bag, but she didn't really want to take that out. Scorpia could pull up any minute. 

She didn't have her own car, and Weaver didn't trust Catra with hers. She also didn't have the time to drive Catra to Etheria in the mornings, so she usually just carpooled with Scorpia. TFZ was right on the way to school for Scorpia, and she continued to claim that it wasn't an issue to drive her there in the morning. 

Catra liked waiting on the outskirts of her street. None of her teammates had ever actually dropped her off at her house before, she always insisted they just stop at the intersection, that the rest of the walk wasn't very long. That was a lie. It was quite long. 

So she waited in the frigid air for her best friend, clutching her backpack and duffel bag. She watched as blurs of color flew past her sight, each one bringing the cold embrace of air. She was getting a little tired of waiting. 

Just before she was about to grab her phone and give Scorpia a call, she heard a voice shout above the noise. 

"Hey, Wildcat!" Scorpia called, her jeep pulling up loudly to where Catra stood. "Hey," Catra said with relief, dumping her bags in the backseat of the car. "Sorry for the holdup, the engine took a minute to start working," Scorpia explained while Catra sat down in the front seat. "It's fine, Scorp. I wasn't waiting for that long."

Scorpia stepped on the gas pedal, and the vehicle shook beneath them. It wasn't exactly the newest of rides, Scorpia had had the jeep since she could even start driving with a permit. Even then, the car had still been practically falling apart. It was a miracle the thing could still drive. 

"How'd it go with Net yesterday? Kyle heard that we're sharing the court," Scorpia said. Catra nodded. "As much as it pains me to say, she's right. No getting off the hook this time." Scorpia groaned. "Ugh, that sucks. How long is this going on for?"

"Until we've sufficiently 'bonded' with the Rebels to the point where we don't start wars over socks," Catra said, and Scorpia groaned again. "I know, I'm not siked about it either. But at least you've got Wednesdays off," she said. Scorpia raised an eyebrow. "What's special about Wednesday?" 

"I'm stuck the blondie herself in detention. And not even the normal one, the kind that I'm used to," Catra replied. She had had her own fair share of hours in the detention room. She wasn't exactly at the top of her class. She turned in a lot of assignments late, rarely participated in class, and never really put a whole lot of effort into it. She didn't feel the need to most of the time. 

To her, grades were less important than things like volleyball. Being an athlete wasn't simple in any sense, but physical strength had always come easier to her than mental knowledge. It just felt so wrong to sit in a chair and look at paper for a while rather than move around. Entrapta usually helped her out with stuff she needed to pass in order to graduate, which was really nice of her. 

Scorpia pulled into the parking lot and found the closest spot to the school entrance. It was still a little while before classes would start, but it was never a bad thing to arrive earlier and beat the traffic. The WW got quite crowded and hard to navigate at that time of day. 

The two girls entered the building and walked down to the gym locker room, which was still a bit messy from the incident earlier. Catra opened her locker and shoved her duffel inside, slamming it closed after the bag was fully in the metal compartment. 

"You seem a bit tense," Scorpia pointed out in the silence after the door closed. The sound of the metal ringing still echoed in the room. "Really? What makes you say that?" Catra asked, heavy sarcasm in her voice. She dropped her backpack on the floor and sat down on the bench. Scorpia closed her locker much quieter than Catra had and joined her friend on the bench. 

"Hey," she said, nudging Catra with her shoulder. The girl didn't move her gaze, only swayed with the push. "Are you okay?" 

Catra's ears perked up. Her eyes grew in size. She wasn't used to questions like that. 

"Yeah, just-" she stopped herself and took a deep breath. "Just didn't sleep well last night."

Scorpia nodded her understanding. With anyone else, she would offer a hug. But she already knew what Catra's answer would be. 

"Just try and take it easy today. The only real thing to be afraid of is practice," she said, and Catra chuckled. "Trust me, I'm well aware."

There was a moment of silence in the locker room. The words lingered just as the metallic ringing had before. Catra  _ was _ well aware. She knew that she'd had to face the blonde later that day, that they'd have to decide on a way to evenly split the court. But she certainly wasn't looking forward to it. 

Catra pulled out her phone and checked the time. She tucked it back away but stayed standing. There was still plenty of time before class started. 

"Hey, can you do me a favor?" She asked, and Scorpia smiled. "Or course I can, Wildcat. What do you need?"

"I need you to keep the detention thing on the down-low. I don't want a bunch of people knowing about it."

"I can do that. Can I ask why?"

"I just don't want any rumors or anything, okay?"

Scorpia nodded. "Got it. Have I ever told you that I am great at keeping secrets?"

"Many times."

"Well, I am great at keeping secrets. My lips are sealed, Wildcat," she replied, and made an act out of dramatically moving her pinched fingers horizontally across her lips. Catra smiled. "Thanks."

-_-

"You have  _ got _ to be kidding me. I thought Kyle was just messing around!" Lonnie exclaimed, placing her head in her hands and groaning. "We can't  _ actually _ be sharing a court with them, can we?"

"We can, and we are," Catra stated, only to receive a collective groan from everyone in response. "Look, I'm not thrilled either," Catra said, holding her hands up. "But the quicker we get this over with the quicker we can get our practice time back."

"How do you plan to 'share' the court?" Entrapta asked, raising an eyebrow. 

"That was where I was hoping that some of you might be able to help," Catra said, looking around the table at her teammates. 

The cafeteria was packed that day. People were still getting used to the layout and how to sit correctly in the chairs. It was a noisy place. Most times, the Horde would find a table as secluded as possible from the chaos that was the great hall, but today their signature spot had been taken by the time they arrived. It was hard to hear anything over all of the raucous. 

The seven of them sat at a gray, circular table located in the center of the room. Most of them were done with their food, and a couple hadn't gotten lunch at all. The actual time allotted for lunch break was quite minimal. 

"We could split up the time, rather than space," Hordak pointed out, and Catra nodded in response. 

"We could also share the court half and half for the whole time," Kyle suggested. 

Those were really the only two ways to split it fairly. Or, at least, fairly but minimal arguments and threats of sock wars. 

"But which one is better for us?" Scorpia asked. "I'm not sure. Maybe the Rebels have an idea."

The rest of the table almost snorted at Catra's comment. "You? Asking the Rebels for ideas? Man, you really changed overnight, didn't you?" Lonnie said, chuckling. 

"You aren't starting to  _ care _ about them, are you?" Hordak asked, snickering. "Given that her face turned red, I believe she is," Entrapta added, and they all laughed. 

Catra groaned, laying her head against the table to hide her blush. "Oh my God, you guys are the worst."

"What about Octavia? What's she gonna say?" Scorpia asked, and a small silence filled the space. Well, silence between the seven of them. The rest of the room continued its deafening events. 

"I'll talk to Octavia. You guys just need to focus on not beating up the Rebels," Catra replied, and the rest of the group nodded. "No promises," Lonnie mumbled, and Catra chuckled. "Look. I know I'm asking for a substantial amount of change in these next few weeks, but please just try. For Net, and for the team."

A little pause followed Catra’s statement. None of them had really been the best at making other friends, which made ending a year-long rivalry seem like a marathon. Friendship wasn’t something you could just train for. You couldn’t run or jump or practice as you could with volleyball. Repairing such a relationship wouldn’t be as simple as participating in a tournament. This was a whole new beast. 

"Then we'll do our best," Entrapta said. Rogelio grunted his agreement. Rogelio didn't ever really talk. It wasn't that he was incapable of talking, he just chose not to most of the time. 

"Thank you," Catra replied. 

-_-

The rest of the day went by relatively smoothly. Classes were still just as slow as the day before, new enough to prevent anyone from posting any big assignments. That meant low-stress leading up to the end bell. 

When the bell did ring, it seemed to run slower than normal. While the other student filed out of their classroom, excited to be driving home to their houses and whatever awaited them outside the school doors. It was normal to see the smiles of the younger students as the chains broke, as their freedom became visible. It was a good feeling to leave the building. Even though it wasn’t a bad place to be, it also wasn’t a half-bad place to abandon as soon as the bell allowed it. 

The rush of traffic filled the halls. People ran into each other on their way to the parking lot, on their way to the buses. Hallways were like intersections, but without any painted lines or stoplights. Plenty of students that were shorter than her bumped into Catra on her way upstream to the gym. She had to practically cling to the wall to keep from falling into the crushing stream of people. 

When she eventually did make it to the gym, the rest of her team was waiting in the locker room. The space was split into two sections, the one reserved for the girls, and the one reserved for the guys, both sections were blocked with fake wood doors.

By the looks of the faces of her teammates, Catra could tell the Rebels were already inside. She sighed and motioned for the three boys to go into their locker room. She walked up to the girl’s door and gripped the handle. 

There was a pause before she opened the door. She didn’t want to twist the handle, she didn’t want to walk into the locker room. She wanted to turn on her heels and practice outside in the soccer field, far away from the Rebels and their stupid goodie-two-shoes of a captain. 

But she didn’t have a choice. So she opened the door. 

She was met with a shirt to the face. 

“Dude! Great aim!” Glimmer shouted to Mermista, who pumped a fist in the air. The Rebel girls were almost all changed, and Mermista’s shirt that day now rested right on top of Catra’s forehead. The two Rebels laughed, but Catra didn’t say anything. 

She merely reacher up to the cotton top on her face and slowly removed it. The tips of her fingers pinched the fabric, trying to keep the article of clothing as far away from her body as she could manage. She set the shirt onto the bench next to her and brushed her hands on her pants. 

Lonnie reached down to throw the shirt back at them, but Entrapta grabbed her hand to stop her. The last thing they all needed was another war over cloth. 

The four Horde members walked over to the opposite end of the locker room and started to change into their practice uniforms. Shouts and cheers from the basketball players rang in their ears. God, why were they so  _ loud? _

“Do other sports teams scream while they change?” Lonnie asked Catra, her voice close to a whisper-shout. Catra chuckled and shook her head. “To be honest, I have no clue. I just hope this is a one-time thing.”

The way that their voices bounced around in the small tiled space gave Catra a headache. First they were just sharing a court in order to practice, but this was a whole different story. She kept to her corner behind the divider wall. Her eyes constantly moved from the entrance to the room to her uniform, making sure no Rebel walked in on them. She had no intention of showing any of those hooligans what she looked like in a sports bra. 

The Horde finished first, and they couldn’t be happier to be leaving. While there weren’t many fewer of them to be changing in the first place, they hadn’t wasted all of their time screaming to the heavens. 

The three Horde boys were waiting for them outside the door. When it opened, they were able to hear the shouts coming from the other five left inside. Rogelio raised an eyebrow, and Catra just shrugged in response. 

It looked like the Rebel boys were also taking forever to change. The Horde set their bags down in the usual place beside the court and unlocked the storage closet. Catra walked in and grabbed a couple of volleyballs, tossing them behind her. 

She, Entrapta, and Lonnie headed to the opposite side of the court, and the other four served them the balls. There was the familiar squeak of shoes against the court floor as the three moved to save the balls from hitting the ground. This was their usual tactic when they first arrived, to start off directly with serves and receives. 

When Octavia showed up, that was when they would move to something different. But it usually took their coach a little while to get to the school with all the traffic, so they just practiced by themselves for a bit. 

It was probably a solid five more minutes before the Rebels burst out of the locker rooms. Somehow the boys and girls had managed to appear at the same time. They were still as loud as ever.

Reluctantly, Catra dived for the last ball and caught it instead of sending it back to the other side. She stood up, took a deep breath, and walked over to Adora Greyskull.

The Rebels seemed surprised that the Horde was already practicing. Their loud shouts died down, and the bounce of a missed volleyball filled the space. Catra stopped walking a good seven feet from the jock, crossing her arms. 

Adora gulped. “You guys already stared?” Catra raised an eyebrow, “you were taking forever. Now, how are we gonna do this?”

The rest of the Horde stood behind her, not daring to say a word. Adora wasn’t really sure how she was supposed to respond. She had never had an actual conversation with Catra that didn’t consist of insults and laughing. 

In no way was she prepared to communicate civilly with her enemy. 

“Um...I don’t know.”

“Oh come on, you’re the nerd here. Shouldn’t your brain be working?”

“It is working! I just-”

“Then gimme an idea!”

The captains were the only ones speaking or moving. The Rebels and the Horde were dead silent. Neither of them really knew how this was gonna go down, but that created a very awkward background lack of noise. 

“Can you practice with half a court?”

“Not really, our court is half the size of yours already!”

“We can’t use our court when there’s a net in the middle of it!”

“I know that, dumbass!”

The shouts grew louder. The gym was echoing with the angered remarks of both girls. They weren’t getting anywhere with this. Both Adora and Catra had been ready to keep their cool, but it was obvious that that didn’t last very long. 

The back and forth only increased from there. At some point, Glimmer joined in. The hothead probably couldn’t keep her mouth shut, Catra thought. The rest of their team seemed so quiet all of a sudden, like they were afraid to speak. 

Lonnie joined Catra shortly after Glimmer spoke up, which the captain was grateful for. She felt small while two basketball players argued with her. 

“Why can’t you just let us play for a half-hour then take your turn?”

“I’ll bet it takes at least ten minutes to take down that net!”

“I’m sure that eight big and strong players like you could handle moving a net!”

“Why can’t you take the second half?”

You took fifteen minutes to get changed today, you’ve already wasted half of your time by the time you walk onto the court!”

There really was no dealing with either of them. Both teams wanted the full court for as long as possible, but that clearly wasn’t a possibility. There wasn’t a good way to split the court to allow both teams to practice smoothly without argument. 

And all of that wasn’t even including the fact that they were supposed to be  _ getting along _ . Those were Net’s instructions, and if that afternoon was any example, that was not going to be as easy as expected. 

It wasn’t until Octavia walked in that the energy started to change. 

“Alright cadets, time to-  _ Shit! _ What are they doing here?!” She shouted, the presence of her enemy team startling her. 

Octavia was a stoic, well-rounded woman who was really good at shouted. Seriously. She could call to people from a mile away without batting an eyelash. Which made her great during games when the team needed to change tactics or use one of their special moves or something like that. 

Her turquoise hair was always up in a long tight ponytail. She usually wore a light sweatshirt that contrasted the uniform colors. The Horde wore red and black. She had been the school’s coach for eight years. In her second year of coaching, she had watched the Horde play in middle school. 

She had been near ecstatic when they all came to Etheria and signed up for the team. They were a really talented bunch. She had gotten to know the kids over the last three years, and she was really grateful for it. 

But she was not grateful for what Catra told her that afternoon. 

“You did  _ what?” _ She hissed, slapping a hand to her forehead. “I’m sorry, okay. It got out of hand, and it won’t happen again, I swear,” Catra explained quickly, and Octavia just groaned. 

The rest of the teams were sitting on opposite sides of the bleachers adjacent to the court, talking quietly amongst themselves. Octavia had gone berserk when she saw the Rebels standing next to her team, and demanded an explanation. 

They had all collectively agreed that yelling was no longer helping, and they should probably cool down before trying to negotiate. ‘Cool down’ for Catra as of the moment meant trying to stop Octavia from breaking the entire court in half. The woman was  _ really _ strong, she could probably do it if she wanted to. But that wouldn’t get them running in the right direction. 

“This was bound to happen someday. I knew Net couldn't stand our friendly rivalry,” Octavia said. Catra stood there, silent, waiting for her to say something else. The coach took a deep breath before turning to her captain. 

“I think splitting the court physically in half would be the best option. We can work with half for now, but we’ll need to try and make amends with them soon if we want to actually play anybody,” Octavia explained as calmly as she could. 

The rivalry between the volleyball and basketball teams had been a big thing since she got hired at Etheria. She had been confused at first, but after meeting with the basketball coach, she had given up on trying to break the curve. Huntara was impossible to deal with. 

Her team had always taken after her act with her dislike for the basketball players. She didn’t intend to make an established relationship worse, but she had. Then, when Catra and the rest of the Horde showed up, the idea of having an enemy within the school walls was no stranger to them. 

Which, in the end, only made her hate Huntara more. 

“I don’t wanna have to talk to that ass of a woman,” Octavia groaned, and Catra spoke up. “I don’t think Huntara’s coming today, you could just call her and ask.”

Octavia nodded reluctantly, and the two made their way over to the bleachers where the Rebels sat. The group noticed the incoming Horde members and silenced themselves, expecting another rally of shouts. 

“I need a phone,” Octavia stated. That took them a bit off-guard. “You don’t have one?” Glimmer asked, confused. 

“That’s not what I mean. Who’s the captain of this thing?” Adora slowly raised her hand, and Octavia turned to face her. “I need to borrow your phone.”

“Why?” Adora asked, wrapping her hand around her phone protectively. “You have your coach’s number on there, right?” Adora nodded. “Then I need it to decide how we split the court. I need her... _ input _ ,” Octavia said, almost shuddering at the idea of  _ agreeing _ with her nemesis. 

Adora hesitantly handed the woman her phone, opening it to her contacts list. 

“Have you told her already?” Octavia asked, and Adora nodded her response. Octavia scrolled on the phone until she found Huntara’s contact, then hit the call button. The phone began to ring. 

Before Huntara picked up the phone, Catra spoke up from behind her coach. “You know, if you really don’t want to argue with her you could just pretend to be Greyskull,” she suggested, and Octavia turned around. The phone was still ringing. “What? How am I supposed to sound like her?”

“Literally make your voice as nasal as possible but throw in an emo-like twist,” Catra said, and Adora groaned. “You realize that’s not gonna work, I’ve known Huntara for years, she would remem-”

Octavia rapidly waved her off as the woman on the other end of the line answered the phone. Adora stopped talking. 

“Hey Greyskull, what’s up?”

Octavia took a deep breath. When she spoke, she talked as nasally as she could manage. But, as Catra had said, she added a bit of emotion into it too. 

“Are you coming to practice today?”

There was a silence on the other side. Adora had a hand clamped over her mouth, her face red with stifled laughter. Octavia sounded  _ nothing _ like her, she was totally gonna blow her cover. 

Both Octavia and Catra waited for the reply. Catra had her arms crossed and a smirk upon her face while waiting for the other coach’s response. Finally, Huntara spoke.

“Sorry Greyskull, I know it’s a bit last minute but I hope you can manage with those Horde kids.”

Adora’s face turned from a smile to a look of horror. Catra, along with the rest of the Horde, started silently howling with laughter. They weren’t actually making any noise, that would ruin Octavia’s acting, but they got their point across. 

“Can we agree to split the court halfway the whole time?” Octavia asked in her same Adora impression. Once again Huntara responded normally. “Sounds good to me. I gotta go, but I’ll be there tomorrow.”

“Okay!” Octavia exclaimed, and pulled the phone away from her ear to hang up. As soon as Huntara was off the line, she threw back her head and laughed. The Horde joined in. Adora desperately reached for her phone and attempted to hide her face from the others, but found that some of her own teammates were snickering as well. They silenced themselves as soon as Adora looked their way. 

“Well, I guess that’s settled then,” Octavia announced between chuckles. “You take the right side.” She pointed to the far side of the court. “And please try not to hit my players with a basketball,” she added. 

Adora, still shocked that her coach would believe that was her, slowly made her way to the far side of the court. She lowered the basketball hoop from the ceiling using one of the buttons on the wall and told her team to start their normal drills. 

Octavia called her team over to the bench by their half of the court, and they all sat down in somewhat of an awkward circle. “Listen,” she spoke. The Horde was already listening to her, she knew that. “Our first game is in two weeks. We’re fighting Prime again. You guys need to be prepared,” she explained. 

Prime High was Etheria’s rival sports-wise. The basketball teams were enemies too. There was this big thing about the school’s history to explain where the relationship between them came from, but no one really cared anymore. Prime students were jerks, that was one of the few things the Horde and the Rebels could agree on. 

Etheria and Prime had regular games and practice games all the time. The Horde knew what kind of moves they used, who their best players were, and how to get under their skin. Needless to say, when it came to volleyball, Prime kinda sucked. Basketball, not so much. Those games were usually long and loud and somewhat entertaining, but mostly annoying. Too much ball bouncing and shoe squeaking. 

“I know it’s early, and I’m sorry for rushing you, but I think you guys can handle it. With this new setup, I’m gonna want you guys to do some practice drills at home when those jerks aren’t around,” Octavia told them, pointing a thumb back at the loud mass of people on the opposite side of the field. 

“Captain?” Octavia said, turning to Catra. “Any words of advice?” Catra thought for a moment, then gave the coach a curt nod. 

“Last year we did really well, and I’m very proud of all of you. But our defense is still weak. We rely too much on our brute force in the front end so much that we’re not prepared for when it backfires,” Catra explained. The rest of the team nodded in agreement. It was true. 

“Our offense, on the other hand, is amazing. And our blocking was better than ever last year. This is our last season at Etheria, let’s make it count!” A small cheer from the rest followed her comment. Octavia smiled. 

“Alright, let’s do this!” She shouted, grabbing a small cart of volleyballs from the storage closet. The Horde lined up, ready to practice.

-_-

Entrapta was the one to drive Catra home, after repeated apologies of forgetting the day before. Catra waved it off and told her it was nothing. 

Entrapta drove an old purple SUV that was only slightly newer than Scorpia’s jeep. Still practically falling apart, but no one in the Horde had a car that could go a couple of miles without breaking down. 

Entrapta was a very talkative person. While playing the game, she was attentive and focused. She was also quite talented at what she did. Entrapta was the team’s libero, the player who rotated in and out of the game in the back row. Her job was solely to keep the ball from touching the floor. 

And with her on the court, it never really did. The Horde had this whole running joke that her hair could magically move on its own to give her some sort of turbo boost. There was no other way to explain the speed at which she moved. There were very few balls that touched their side of the court when she was in play. 

She was also really smart. Top of the class, second only to the blonde herself. But that meant that whatever she was usually talking about made absolutely no sense whatsoever to everyone else in the conversation. 

Catra looked out her window, watching as other cars sped by. Entrapta’s rambling continued in the background, but she did her best to try and tune it out. She loved Entrapta, she really did, but the girl didn’t understand the idea of too much information. 

The practice had actually gone pretty well after Octavia showed up. The Horde had practiced their receives and serves against the far wall, and only bounced a couple of stray balls onto the opposite side. There were the occasional quarrels and bickers among them, but it was overall pretty mild. 

Catra’s ears perked up when Entrapta stopped talking. That was unusual for her. “Something wrong, ‘Trap?” She asked, and the purple-haired girl just smiled. “No, I’m just proud of how we handled today.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, we completed an entire hour of training together and not one punch was thrown!”

“I mean I guess, but we were still screaming at each other.”

Entrapta pulled the car into TFZ, turning to her captain. “Listen, I know you might not see it, but the others were doing really good today at keeping their cool around the Rebels. Plus, we got better at receiving, didn’t we?”

“Not really, it was only an hour,” Catra said, her hand reaching for the door handle. Entrapta stopped her. 

“Catra, the team doesn’t have to be perfect. Improving is never a bad thing, and no team is flawless. We work well together because we know our strengths and weaknesses, that’s what makes us strong. Not the fact that we’ve perfected everything there is to do, but the fact that we’re smart enough to help each other when it’s needed. You should really stop being so hard on yourself, along with the rest of us. We’re a  _ good team _ .”

Catra’s mouth hung open. Entrapta usually never said anything nice like that. Her rambling was always about science and math and smart shit. These were  _ uplifting words _ . 

“Uh oh, did I break you? You seem broken,” Entrapta said, and Catra shook her head. “No, I’m fine. You’ve just...never said anything like that to me. Or anyone else on the team.” She put her hand on Entrapta’s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. 

“I’d love for you to say stuff like that at games if you’re up to it. That had...a sense of inspiration to it,” Catra said, and she opened the car door. 

As she closed the door behind her and waved as the purple vehicle disappeared from sight, her hand found their way into her pockets. Maybe perfection  _ was _ overrated. Maybe it wasn’t such a good goal. 

She made her way along TFZ, the wind whipping through her hair. It wasn’t cold anymore, so she didn’t mind it. When she neared the rows of buildings in the pathetic excuse of a downtown area, she reached inside her bag and pulled out an old apron. 

Time to get to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oops my finger slipped


	3. Chapter 3

Wednesdays at Etheria were bad enough as it was.

Just like any other school day, it was chaotic and loud and crazy. But all of that was to be expected, it was  _ school _ after all. But the Wednesday on the first week of school was never a fun day. 

Monday was a given, you knew what to get ready, what to pack, you had the safety of knowing there weren’t gonna be any big tests unless you did summer homework, and you had plenty of time to mentally prepare. 

Tuesday wasn’t too much worse, it was another day that you could plan for. It wasn’t a jarring shock to have to go to school for two days in a row, and the adrenaline and excitement for starting a new school year was still active. 

By Wednesday that excitement was gone. There was no trace. Everyone wanted to go back to their warm beds and morning coffee. They had had enough school, putting up with two days was noteworthy in itself. 

But Adora and Catra had other things to look forward to. 

Adora would be lying if she said she was completely against the idea of bonding with the Horde captain. She had known her to be an enemy for years, and she didn’t see a whole lot of problem in that. It seemed that Catra didn’t either. 

There had always been a type of rivalry between the two, even when they were young and friends with each other. They were constantly challenging one another, trying their best to come out on top. 

Adora would never admit it to anyone, but there was a small part of her that had liked their previous friendship. 

And maybe that meant it was worth attempting to salvage. Even if Mara and Hop didn’t want her to, she could make decisions for herself. She wasn’t a child anymore.

But that didn’t mean it would be easy. They were enemies, after all. And Catra seemed to like that. 

So when she walked into Mrs. Spinn’s class after the last bell rang, she made sure to sit far away from the other teenager in the room. She wasn’t entirely sure how it was possible that Catra beat her there, but she didn’t question. 

Mrs. Spinn was Net’s wife. She was the English teacher at Etheria, and she specialized in words, somehow always knowing what to say. Similar to how both the girls were somewhat close with the principal, the same applied for Spinn. 

“Adora, so glad you could make it,” Mrs. Spinn said upon seeing her arrive. Catra was silently sitting in the back corner, looking out the window. Adora sent Spinn a small nod and sat down at the desk opposite the other captain. 

They were the only three people in the room, which opted for minimum conversation. There really was no point in trying to spark small talk, it would not be received. 

There still wasn’t any homework in any of her classes, given that school had just started the day before. That moment was one of the few times that she wished she had some homework, or really just something to  _ do _ . 

Mrs. Spinn was engrossed in her planner stuff, probably deciding what her students would be doing the next day. Adora leaned back in her seat and took a deep breath. 

She pulled a small sketchbook out of her bag and made a mental note to bring a book next week. 

The room was a bit small and stuffy. Adora didn’t know how on earth Spinn could stand the amount of dust. There were janitors that regularly came and dusted the place in an attempt to make the room more comfortable, but none so far had been successful. At some point, Spinn had probably just become one with the dust. 

There wasn’t a whole lot of space in between the three of them. Adora didn’t like the silence. There was a pencil dragging across a piece of paper on top of the teacher’s desk as Spinn worked, but no sound came from the volleyball captain. 

The lack of noise lasted a good ten minutes. Mrs. Spinn stood up, causing Adora to look up from her sketchbook. Catra didn’t bat an eyelash. “You girls will be alright if I go to the office to print something, right?” She asked, raising an eyebrow at the silent teenagers in front of her. 

Adora didn’t say anything, she just gave Spinn a small nod. Catra still didn’t move. It was like she wasn’t even acknowledging their presence, and Adora didn’t like it. As soon as Spinn was out of the room and the door was closed behind her, she turned around. 

The blonde was facing Catra, but she still didn’t respond. Had her eyes left the window at all?

Adora cleared her throat, hoping to catch her attention. Catra pretended not to notice. 

In her mind, Adora groaned. This girl was  _ impossible _ to deal with. She had every intention of doing exactly what Net wanted of her, but she couldn’t do her job if Catra didn’t cooperate. This wasn’t a one-woman job. 

But why didn’t Catra want to get it over with? She had obviously dialed down on the sarcasm levels the day before during practice, especially in the locker room when Mermista threw a shirt at her. But now, when it was just the two of them, she remained silent. Hell, even the awkward drive home on Monday was better than this. 

_ Wait _ , Adora stopped. Did...did she have a ride home? If Monday was any proof, Catra didn’t have a car to drive home with. And if whatever guardians she had couldn’t pick her up on the first day of school, how was today any different? 

TFZ was really far from Etheria, much too far to walk. 

She considered asking Catra if she had a ride home but decided against it. She didn’t want to push the sliver of luck she still might have. It was a dangerous game, this ‘bonding’ experience. Adora feared that if she so much as spoke that all their progress might shatter. 

Then again, what progress had they made? They had still yelled at each other the day before, and not much had changed afterward. Adora took a deep breath. 

“Hello,” she said, confidently. She had to start some sort of conversation, there was no way that she would be able to stand the silence any longer. Catra didn’t flinch, didn’t move, didn’t even show that she had heard her. 

“Hi,” she replied. It was a quiet sound, but Adora could still hear it. 

Not to say that that excited the jock, but she was pretty sure it excited her. 

She opened her mouth to say something else, but nothing came out. She had no clue what to say next. How was she doing?  _ Did _ she have a ride home? How was her day? All questions would bring an answer similar to ‘Why do you give a shit?’ ‘Fuck off,’ or ‘None of your business'.

She had been the one to start somewhat of a conversation, why did she not prepare for what came next? In situations similar to this with teachers and academic-related things she was always one step ahead, but this was uncharted territory. She had no clue what to do now. 

There was a small silence between the two. Adora’s mouth was still open. She was just waiting for sound to actually come out of it. 

Catra, annoyed by the lack of sound after the blonde seemed intent on speaking, turned around to face the other captain. Her eyebrow was raised, and her mouth was in a thin line. Adora clamped her mouth shut. 

“You gonna say something, blondie?” Catra asked, her voice monotone. It seemed devoid of any emotion. The lack of sarcasm took Adora a little off guard. 

She opened her mouth yet again, and sound managed to come out this time. “I...don’t know?” She replied, and mentally slapped herself on the forehead. What kind of response was that? She sounded like such a  _ dumbass _ .

Catra chuckled, making the blonde blush with embarrassment. “I wish you were this awkward all the time. It’d be hilarious,” she said. Adora groaned. “At least I’m putting in some effort! You’re just ignoring the rest of the world over there,” she said, motioning to Catra’s seating choice. 

“I felt like sitting in a corner.”

“You know what I mean!”

“I do, I’m just choosing not to acknowledge it.”

“I literally cannot begin to describe how intolerable you are.”

“Don’t flatter me”

“I’m not-” Adora started, but stopped herself. Arguing would get her nowhere near the direction she was trying to steer herself. The last thing she needed was a serious setback this early on. 

She took a deep breath. “I wanna get this over with. Just like you do,” She spoke softly, and Catra stopped laughing. “At least we can agree on something,” she added. 

Catra looked like she wanted to say something. Wanted to insult her, wanted to argue further, but it seemed like she decided against it. Instead, she just nodded. The gesture seemed to be more directed to herself, however, rather than a motion to the other captain. 

Adora spoke up again. “Do you...have a ride?” She asked, and Catra’s expression didn’t change. “Nope.” 

The way she said it with such ease was mildly impressive. Her house was probably a half an hour walk away from the school as the crow flew, and there was no way she'd be able to cut through those tall forests. 

Adora was the kind of person that required a plan for pretty much everything. Her actions were dictated by logic and stability, and it helped her to be able to feel like she was one step ahead of other people. But Catra didn’t have a plan. And by the looks of it, she had no intention of making one. 

“Are you just going to walk?”

“I dunno. I’ll figure something out.”

“It’s supposed to rain.”

“Really? Fun.”

She seemed unfazed by Adora’s comment about the weather. It was only mildly annoying. “You can’t walk that far in the rain,” she added, hoping that Catra would catch on at what she was trying to do. 

“I think I’ll do just fine,” Catra said, smirking. The look she was giving Adora, she knew exactly what her plan was. She was just pushing Adora to actually say it out loud. Adora sighed. 

“I could...give you a ride again,” Adora mumbled, and Catra chuckled and shook her head. “Sorry, couldn’t hear you. Louder?” Adora groaned. “I could give you a ride. Again,” she said, but louder this time and a tad bit slower. 

“You don’t say,” Catra said with heavy sarcasm, feigning surprise. Adora rolled her eyes. “Do you want a heated seat or not?” Catra giggled again. “If you insist.”

Adora didn’t show it, but internally she was very proud of herself. She had gotten her rivel to ride in her car. Again. It wasn’t a lot, but it was progress. And at this point, that was about all she could ask for. 

The rest of detention seemed to fly by after their little conversation. Spinn came back into the room after they were finished talking, and upon seeing Adora’s new placement in the room, closer to Catra’s, the teacher smiled. 

Adora continued to draw, Catra kept looking out the window, and Spinn resumed her previous work. The classroom was peaceful. Eventually, Spinn stood from her desk and clasped her hands together loudly. 

Both captains looked at her, and she smiled back at them. “Thank you for today, girls, you are free to go,” she said, and motioned to the door. Adora sent a “thank you,” back to the teacher, and she and Catra made their way over to the door. 

When they were out in the hallway, the door closed behind them. Adora glanced back into the room to see Spinn sit back down in her desk chair, and sent a smirk to the captain next to her. 

Catra returned the look before showing the blonde her hand, with three fingers raised in the air. One of them went back down and curled next to her palm. Adora’s eyes narrowed, and she took a running stance, keeping her eyes on Catra’s hand. 

When her last finger went down, they both took off. 

Both girls were very athletic. Their respective sports required both power and speed in different variations. But, being as active as they were, running was not uncommon in the slightest. They could both run really fast. 

That’s what made it such a good match-up. One of them would return victorious, the other in the dust. 

The hallways in Etheria around the classrooms were relatively wide. In the more less-populated part of the building, the hallways were thinner. But around the blocks of lockers and classrooms, the hallways had to be really wide to atone for the number of students. 

That gave each of them plenty of space to run. 

Looking at the school from the air, the building would resemble somewhat of a pointy oval. There was a large courtyard in the center of the space, along with the gardens and outdoor seating. The classrooms surrounded the center space, and there were hallways running down through the building to make room for more walking space. 

That meant there was a large track-sized hallway running through most of the school, with regular intersections to get to the courtyard along the way. 

And, needless to say, it was very fun to fly down the rows of rooms and lockers on your way to the parking lot. Mrs. Spinn was stationed about as far away from the parking lot as one could be on school grounds. 

The two captains bolted through the building, their feet squeaking on the floor as they ran. Posters and doors and signs flew by as blurs. The rest of the world was just too slow. If anyone had been there, had seen them running, they would have been amazed. There really was no explanation as to how they could run so fast. 

It was probably the fact that they were racing. Yeah, that might’ve motivated them to run faster. 

The parking lot came a lot sooner than they expected. 

They were too busy trying to run faster than each other, that they didn’t even notice the fact that their surroundings had changed. It wasn’t until Catra looked down and saw concrete that she finally came to a stumbly stop. Adora tried to stop immediately, causing her to fall flat on her face in the middle of the blacktop. 

Catra didn’t make any attempt to stifle her laughter. Adora just rolled her eyes as she picked herself up from the ground. 

“You don’t have to laugh, you know,” Adora pointed out, walking to her car and pulling the keys out of her pocket. “But you make it so easy to,” Catra replied, walking around the vehicle to the front seat. Adora clicked a button on her keys, and the two sat down in the car. 

“Oh, just drop me off at the intersection from now on,” Catra added quickly, as Adora turned on the vehicle. Adora perked up. “‘From now on?’ Are you suggesting this will happen more than once?” 

Catra immediately blushed with embarrassment. “Ah- no! That’s not what-” Adora cut her off by laughing. “I was just teasing, calm down.”

Adora pulled the car out of the parking lot and motioned to a cord snaking along the handrail. Catra raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Why don’t you play something?” Adora asked. “You’re really asking me that?” Catra responded, slightly surprised. 

“Yep. Now play something good,” Adora said, and Catra picked up the cord. She plugged it into her phone and opened Spotify. She thought for a few minutes, scrolling through her playlists for what seemed like forever. 

“Oh come on, it doesn’t take that long,” Adora said, glancing down at Catra’s phone. She clicked the first playlist she saw, not even taking the time to look at the name. “Play that.”

Catra raised an eyebrow at the jock. “Are you sure?” Adora nodded, and Catra shrugged. She hit the play button. Music slowly started filling the speakers, and Adora recognized it instantly. 

Of course. 

Of course, I  _ had _ to be girl in red that started blasting in the car. “That’s gay,” Adora pointed out, and Catra just laughed. 

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet. The music filled the empty space that the previous silence had made. There was noise now, which somehow made everything a little less embarrassing. 

When Adora arrived at TFZ, she didn’t pull in. She stopped at the intersection and let the other girl out of her car. Catra grabbed her bag from the back and snatched her phone from the cord, putting a stop to the music. She pocketed the device with ease and sent one more look to the girl in the driver’s seat. She didn’t smile. She didn’t wave, or shoot the blonde with finger guns or anything. 

But her eyes said thank you. 

Adora thought about responding. She could give the captain a small salute, a motion of good-bye. But she decided against it, instead just watching as the door opposite her closed, sending a shudder through the car. Her eyes followed the girl as she made her way along the dangerous road. 

For some reason, her mouth felt ready to say something. Ready to shout, ready to call to her. There was no reason, of course. Their interaction was over for the day. There was no need to extend the torture, right? 

Maybe...it wasn’t torture. Maybe something good could come out of this. 

-_-

“I told you not to play with the lighter! You almost set Bow’s pants on fire!” A shout came from inside the building as Adora closed the door behind her. Upon hearing the sound of the front door closing, two figures burst through the door to the entrance area. 

“Adora!” They shouted, panting at the sudden outburst of energy. The blonde smiled. Her friends always found a way to make her happy. “It was just an hour, guys. You could have easily survived,” she said, only to receive two oddly synchronized head shakes as a response. She giggled, kicking off her shoes and watching them tumble on the carpet. She straightened them on the shoe mat with her foot and walked around her friends into the living room. 

The place belonged to Glimmer. Her mom owned a smaller house right on Brightmoon. The place was quaint, and Adora had been over too many times to count. At this point, she was practically part of the family. So was Bow. 

It was really common for the three of them to hang out after school was done, considering the lack of distance between their houses. While they weren’t the most studious of people when you put them in the same room, they still got stuff done. 

Glimmer’s mom, Angella, wasn’t home very often. She had to travel a lot for her line of work, but she knew Adora and Bow quite well from her daughter’s repeated invitations to their house. She was fine with having them over whenever they saw fit. Which was how they usually ended up on the fluffy peach carpet of Glimmer’s living room every day after school. 

“We were afraid you weren’t coming back,” Glimmer said, as she and Bow made their way to the room where Adora sat. Her backpack laid on the ground next to her, but it wasn’t open. She just sat on the rug beneath her, her fingers running across the soft surface. 

“The rest of the team was already planning your funeral,” Bow added, and he took a seat next to his friend. Adora laughed at the comment. “Really guys?” She asked, raising an eyebrow and smiling. Glimmer sat down next to the both of them, forming an awkward triangle between the three. 

“Um, yeah! You were stuck with Catra  _ alone _ for like, an entire hour. We were sure that someone would end up dead,” Glimmer explained, and Adora just shook her head. “Nope. We didn’t interact that much, but I drove her home.”

“You did  _ what _ ?!” Glimmer and Bow exclaimed at the same time, causing Adora to jump. She rubbed the back of her head and smiled at the two. “She doesn’t have a car, and no one else was there-” “That doesn’t mean you drive her home,” Glimmer interrupted, and Adora giggled. 

“You guys act like my life is in danger whenever I’m around her, just relax,” Adora said. The conversation changed topics quickly, but Adora noticed something after she spoke. Glimmer and Bow had been friends since they were babies before she joined them in fifth grade, so they had known each other a bit longer. And while most of the time that wasn’t a big deal, they did have a certain connection that Adora simply couldn’t match. 

It was impossible to miss the look they gave each other after her last statement. Not one of sarcasm or immaturity, but one of understanding. That was...weird. 

There was a small silence before someone spoke up again.

“I’m getting cookies.” Glimmer announced, and stood up from her place on the rug. Bow laughed at the sudden declaration. “You don’t have any cookies,” Bow stated, motioning to the kitchen. Glimmer merely nodded. 

“Correction.  _ We’re _ getting cookies,” she said bending down and grabbing the wrists of her two guests. Adora and Bow smiled and stood up, the three of them making their way to the door. It was warm enough out where none of them really needed jackets, but they grabbed them anyway. 

Glimmer didn’t have a garage in her house. Just a large concrete driveway that snaked its way to the road. On the driveway lay the three cars belonging to the three members of the Best Friend Squad. They hopped into Bow’s truck and sped down the road. 

There was a grocery store not too far from the house that the three visited quite often. The building was huge, and had pretty much everything inside. It was the kind of place you could enter with a list of a handful of items and exit with three cart-fulls of random shit. 

And while that got annoying sometimes, it was quite fun to walk around the place. Plus, they had really good cookies in the bakery section. 

There was some kind of uplifting music playing in the background as the three made their way to the store. There were also three inexperienced singing voices resounding in the small space. Very off-key, and very loud. 

It was actually quite impressive that they made it to the store with everyone in one piece. 

The store wasn’t very busy at this time of day, considering it was another thirty minutes until rush hour. The only people there were the ones who were in school or had really flexible jobs. 

The aisles were relatively empty, the optimal shopping cart-riding situation. The three of them each grabbed a cart from the racks after locking up the vehicle and slid down the tile. Shelves full of food and appliances sped past them as they flew through the building. 

It felt like many summer nights. Most days, the three would do something like that if there was no school. Drive to some scenic view, swim in the river, explore some abandoned building that no one cared about anymore, really anything that could count as fun. They rarely went an entire day without seeing each other. 

That was how their friendship worked, after all. It wasn’t clingy, but it could be perceived as it. The three were inseparable. None of them saw that as a bad thing, and it never really got old. They had grown up together, it was normal to want to see each other  _ all the time _ . 

Pictures were taken, altitudes were reached, and many shouts of joy came from the trio in their time inside the store. They did end up getting the cookies they had come for, but that didn’t mean they only left with cookies in their hands. 

There was a random assortment of impulse purchases lying in the woven metal carts as they walked away from the store and across the parking lot back to the truck. 

Adora was the one in the driver’s seat on the way back home, claiming to be a better driver. She definitely wasn’t wrong. More music was played. 

None of them knew what happened after that. The cookies were gone quite quickly. Which meant that all of them ended up getting a major sugar crush. None of them could think straight. If Glimmer’s mom had been home, they all probably would have gotten kicked out of the house. 

Usually, they would study for an upcoming test or work on a group project together, but there was no school work to do today. There was still homework that they had, but it was generally pretty generic in the actual level of intelligence necessary for completion. 

As seniors, most of their classes were electives. They had met most of the core class requirements for graduation and now had a lot more freedom in deciding what classes to take based on what they wanted to be when they left high school. 

Adora, of course, picked electives that were anything but fun and easy. She was advanced in almost everything. It was kinda scary when you thought about it. Both Glimmer and Bow had taken advantage of the newfound freedom in their last high school year and had filled their schedules with classes that required next to nothing on the work front. 

The actual workload wouldn’t come for another week or so for Adora, given that they had no summer homework and needed a little while to actually learn anything of importance. Somehow, studying with her friends around was rather relaxing. A bit distracting at times, but still helpful. 

Thankfully, there was no school work to distract them from their shenanigans that afternoon. 

Adora ended up leaving quite close to midnight that day. She received a call from her moms demanding that she remind them that she was not kidnapped. She immediately apologized for not sending the two a text about her location and promised to be home as soon as possible. The drive wasn’t very long, only about a couple of minutes, but she hurried anyway. 

Her moms were relieved to see her home, and she had to swear to them that she would not forget something as essential as a text again. She blamed the forgetfulness on the copious amounts of sugar. 

She went to bed that night excited and exhausted. She was quite proud of the progress she’d made with the volleyball captain during detention, and looking forward to an entire court of practice in the next few months. 

Her mind kept wandering back to Catra’s choice of music. Girl in red? Did that mean Catra was gay? Or did she just have good taste in music? Usually, a girl listening to girl in red meant the girl was gay. 

Of course, Adora didn’t have a  _ preference _ of whether Catra was gay or not. That wasn’t relevant. It didn’t matter. At all. Yep. Catra could totally be gay and Adora  _ would not _ care. 

Apart from that, she wasn’t looking forward to the rest of the week.

While practicing half-court wasn’t the worst, it definitely wasn’t ideal for their situation. There were a couple of novices that were having their first seasons that year, and they had a limited number of players to begin with. 

The team had been really supportive of the coach’s decision on the phone, but Adora could tell they were really upset. It was difficult to practice in such limited circumstances, especially when they had so much to touch up on and improve. 

But it also could be beneficial for them to learn to adapt to difficult situations. After all, this was their last year. They were graduating after this, which meant new teammates, new courts, and new coaches. If they could learn to improve in less than ideal placements, they would be well equipped for their future in the sports department, if they so chose to pursue it. 

And, even if they didn’t look very calm, they were doing their best to get along with the Horde. And Adora really appreciated that. Though, she would probably have to talk to Mermista about the shirt throw from earlier. 

She fell asleep pretty quickly after hitting the pillow. She dreamt of girls in red and shopping carts. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not proud of the quality of this one but I'm too emotionally exhausted to try and rewrite it 
> 
> So for now, apologies for the shitty content

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so hopefully you didn't hate it but if you did that's ok I understand
> 
> Not really sure how long this is gonna be but updates are gonna be irregular and spotty. It could be a hot minute. Learn some patience children.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated, thanks for reading and I'll see you in the next one
> 
> Have a nice day
> 
> Or don't ;)


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